UNM astronomers help reveal the magnetic field of a spiral galaxy

Posted: August 10, 2020

University of New Mexico graduate student Tim Braun and Professor Richard Rand from the Department of Physics and Astronomy are members of an international team of approximately 50 scientists who are part of a project called the Continuum HAlos in Nearby Galaxies — an EVLA Survey (CHANG-ES), that is revealing new secrets about these magnetic fields.

Rand provided the optical image of the ionized hydrogen that was first published in 1996.  It is seen in the reddish colors in the disk of the galaxy.  That observation used exposures of more than three hours. The goal was to understand the occurrence and properties of ionized gas halos in edge-on galaxies in order to study vertical flows of gas in galaxies. Here, scientists are using the image mainly to show where star formation is currently occurring in the disk, although the absorption of light by interstellar dust grains in NGC 4271 limits scientists view somewhat.

Read the full story at UNM Newsroom.